Support NeoGAF

[commedieu]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/digital-domain-mova-tech-banned-906902

Digital Domain's New Legal Setback Freezes VFX Tech Used by Major Studios

The vaunted motion capture technology known as MOVA can no longer be used by its exclusive licensee, prominent Hollywood visual effects company Digital Domain, according to a recent preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in San Francisco.

The preliminary injunction, which is explained in publicly available legal documents, effectively freezes the technology and forces all of its licensees, including Digital Domain and major Hollywood studios, to stop using it until further notice, or until a trial resolves the issue.

Prominent Hollywood visual effects company Digital Domain 3.0 has lost the right to use one of its most powerful tools, a facial motion capture technology known as MOVA that has been featured in top-grossing hits like Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The court also ordered the MOVA hardware to be physically transferred within ten days to a place chosen by the defendant, in this case Rearden Inc, LaSalle’s former employer.

“For Hollywood, the technology is temporarily out of play,” says Nancy Mertzel, head of the Intellectual Property Group at Herrick, Feinstein in New York, an attorney who reviewed the legal documents for The Hollywood Reporter, “Movie studios who licensed MOVA from Shenzhenshi, VGH or Digital Domain 3.0 must stop using it. A studio that is currently using MOVA, or planned to, will have to wait for the injunction to be lifted, or find an alternative.”

The spat is over who owns a novel method of electronically capturing the performances of human actors, including every smile and twitch of their facial muscles, and using the data to bring computer-generated characters to life on the screen. The technology, called Mova, won a technical Academy Award for a group of developers last year.

 

[wenis]

That's pretty crazy news.

Where's Xia at for some insight. How bad is this going to affect production?

 

[commedieu]

My buddy asked if my studio was hiring... trying to get more info.

But they have data for movies scheduled to release after this injunction. Man dd can't catch a break.

 

[Dan]

The story behind this conflict is so convoluted, I can barely follow.

“DD3/Digital Domain already has captured data of an Academy Award- winning actress for a $120 million motion picture,” Digital Domain’s lawyers wrote, “The movie release date is December 2016. Although the capture is complete, the data from this project has not been processed and must be. In addition, DD3/Digital Domain also has captured another well-known actress for a character that is integral to the story of a sequel of a well-known science fiction film.”

Hmm, I'm assuming Jennifer Lawrence in Passengers, and uh, maybe someone for Alien: Covenant. I'm sure they're having fun discussions.

 

[jett]

Convoluted is right. Really weird case.

 

[HStallion]

Time to strike while the iron is HOT and lets jump back to prosthetics, make up, and practical SFX while they scramble through the legal mess!

Spoiler

/s

 

[quackamole]

Here is an insider scope, most motion captures data end up as really expensive reference videos for the animators to actually hand animate the actual shots.

 

[PsihoPerihelion]

CGI Jeff Bridges still creeps the shit outta me. Look at the freaking hair!

The story behind this conflict is so convoluted, I can barely follow.


Hmm, I'm assuming Jennifer Lawrence in Passengers, and uh, maybe someone for Alien: Covenant. I'm sure they're having fun discussions.

I was thinking of Brie Larson on that King Kong reboot. No way Passengers is that expensive.

 

[Animator]

That's pretty crazy news.

Where's Xia at for some insight. How bad is this going to affect production?

It is going to fuck up many productions.

 

[HStallion]

Here is an insider scope, most motion captures data end up as really expensive reference videos for the animators to actually hand animate the actual shots.

The Naughty Dog method in the videogames world.

 

[Dan]

I was thinking of Brie Larson on that King Kong reboot. No way Passengers is that expensive.

It says December 2016 release date. I know they had wanted to bring Passengers down to something like $80m, but that was also before wondering if Pratt could demand more if Jurassic World hit big.

I guess Marion Cotillard in Assassin's Creed is a possibility, maybe that makes more sense.

 

[TAJ]

My buddy asked if my studio was hiring... trying to get more info.

But they have data for movies scheduled to release after this injunction. Man dd can't catch a break.

Did you leave Digital Domain again? Is this a buddy at Digital Domain wanting to bail out? I'm confused.

 

[BarringGaffner]

As someone who worked at DD for 4 years... this is pretty bad. They really depend upon this to pull in work.

This can't possibly also affect Beauty and the Beast? (DD is doing the beast...). That's currently in production and wrapping soon.

Good luck my DD friends... (whoever is left that is...)

 

[Chiggs]

Bad news for such a great studio.

 

[BarringGaffner]

aah I see Beauty and the Beast is now pushed back to March 2017 release...

I wonder if this going to halt their work on it? All their work on Beast is entirely dependent on it.

 

[TDLink]

The December 2016 movie has to be Assassin's Creed based on the budget.

The Science Fiction sequel I am guessing is either Alien: Covenant or Blade Runner 2.

Potentially Guardians of the Galaxy 2 also?

This is huge. I wonder what will get delayed.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Hmm, I'm assuming Jennifer Lawrence in Passengers, and uh, maybe someone for Alien: Covenant. I'm sure they're having fun discussions.

Fassbender maybe.

 

[Geek]

The December 2016 movie has to be Assassin's Creed based on the budget.

The Science Fiction sequel I am guessing is either Alien: Covenant or Blade Runner 2.

The former may actually be Passengers. It's budget is reportedly $120M (AC's is reportedly higher) and stars Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

 

[TDLink]

The former may actually be Passengers. It's budget is reportedly $120M (AC's is reportedly higher) and stars Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Right I for some reason forgot that was a 2016 film. Good candidate.

 

[Dan]

Fassbender maybe.

Fassbender is not an actress

 

[XiaNaphryz]

That's pretty crazy news.

Where's Xia at for some insight. How bad is this going to affect production?

Several other CG studios would indeed book time to use MOVA for getting facial data to supplement their in-house stuff. I can't imagine that hasn't changed too much the past few years. If there's a freeze on using it, it can affect any show that's relying on that data for their shots.

 

[commedieu]

Did you leave Digital Domain again? Is this a buddy at Digital Domain wanting to bail out? I'm confused.

I haven't been to dd since Malifacent. Turns out He was jokingly asking me. Said they've got word everything will be ok... but.. what else would they say..

 

[Jarmel]

Do any game studios use this?